Linger brothers

Linger brothers, team of two Austrian brothers who competed together in men’s doubles luge, winning gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, and the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The older of the brothers was Andreas Linger (b. May 31, 1981, Hall in Tyrol, Tyrol, Austria). Wolfgang Linger (b. November 4, 1982, Hall in Tyrol) was the younger.

Andreas (left) and Wolfgang Linger, 2011.Kerstin Joensson/AP

The Lingers grew up learning the sport of luge after joining a luge club near Hall in Tyrol at a young age. In 1991 Wolfgang and Andreas, aged 9 and 10, respectively, received access, along with their entire club of 500 members, to run the track in Igls, Austria, the site of the 1964 and 1976 Olympic luge events. They were 2 of only about 12 members of the group who attempted the track.

When Wolfgang and Andreas were 13 and 14, respectively, they first competed in doubles luge. Some seven years later the Lingers qualified for the men’s doubles luge event (in which the sled is driven by a team of two athletes) in the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games. They placed eighth during the competition; however, they finished less than half a second off the gold medal-winning time. The following year the Lingers joined the luge elite by earning a gold medal in the men’s doubles event at the World Luge Championships in Sigulda, Latvia.

In 2005 Wolfgang fractured his ankle and fibula during a test run at a new track in Cesana, Italy, the site of the lugeing and bobsledding events for the Winter Games held the following year in Turin. Wolfgang’s injury threatened the pair’s chances of competing. By 2006, however, he was well enough to endure the preliminary qualifiers at the Cesana track once again, and later the pair posted the fastest men’s doubles time during the Games, earning them the gold medal.

Four years later the Lingers competed in the Winter Games in Vancouver. During the parade of nations in the opening ceremonies, Andreas and Wolfgang received the honour of carrying the Austrian flag. The luge events were held at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Whistler, British Columbia, on a track widely believed to be the fastest in the world. The death of Georgian luge driver Nodar Kumaritashvili during a preliminary run caused Olympic organizers to shorten the runs by changing the starting locations of all luge events; men’s doubles and women’s singles events started at the junior push-off site. These changes had the effect of slowing sled speeds, but the Linger brothers again won gold medals. Their time, 1:22.705, bested their closest competition, the Latvian team of Andris and Juris Šics, by 0.264 second.

At the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the Linger brothers fell short of their goal of becoming the first doubles luge team to win three straight Olympic golds, finishing in second place by 0.522 second. They also were part of an Austrian side that finished in seventh place in the new luge team relay event.